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Effects of the essential oils of Lippia turbinata and Lippia polystachya (Verbenaceae) on the temporal pattern of locomotion of the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae

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Abstract

The essential oils (EO) of Lippia turbinata (TUR) and Lippia polystachya (POL) have shown lethal effects against mosquito larvae. The present work evaluated whether these EO at doses ranging from sublethal to lethal (20, 40 and 80 ppm) modify the temporal pattern of locomotion of Culex quinquefasciatus larvae. Larvae were individually placed in glass boxes, and their activity recorded at 0.3 s intervals during 40 min. Individuals treated with doses >40 ppm of either EO significantly decreased their ambulation speed and the percentage of total time ambulating compared to controls. TUR 80 ppm decreased their ambulation even sooner than POL 80 ppm, when compared to their respective controls. These findings are consistent with the neurotoxic effect against insects attributed to α-Thujone, a main component of both EO. A detrended fluctuation fractal analysis evaluating the complexity and organisation of the temporal pattern of locomotion showed fractal patterns in all animals. Both sublethal and lethal doses of TUR and POL increased the complexity of ambulation. Interestingly, for POL 20 ppm, an increase in complexity was observed, while no changes in general activity were detected, suggesting that fractal analysis may be more sensitive to detect behavioural changes than general activity evaluation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank partial funding from Fundación Mundo Sano. J.M.K. holds research fellowships from Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and is a graduate student of the Doctorado en Ciencias Biológicas, FCEFyN, UNC, Argentina. RHM, JAZ and RMG are Career Members of CONICET. The experiments comply with the current laws of Argentina where they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cátedra de Química Biológica and Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Cordoba, Argentina

    Jackelyn M. Kembro & Raúl H. Marin

  2. IMBIV-CONICET, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Cordoba, Argentina

    Julio A. Zygadlo

  3. Centro de Relevamiento y Evaluación de Recursos Agrícolas y Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Cordoba, Argentina

    Raquel M. Gleiser

  4. CREAN, Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Av. Valparaíso s.n. (5016), Cordoba, Argentina

    Raquel M. Gleiser

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  1. Jackelyn M. Kembro
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  2. Raúl H. Marin
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  3. Julio A. Zygadlo
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  4. Raquel M. Gleiser
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Correspondence to Raquel M. Gleiser.

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Kembro, J.M., Marin, R.H., Zygadlo, J.A. et al. Effects of the essential oils of Lippia turbinata and Lippia polystachya (Verbenaceae) on the temporal pattern of locomotion of the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae. Parasitol Res 104, 1119–1127 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1296-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-008-1296-6

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